40 Yr Old Education

The 40 Year Old virgin actually contains many scenes with sex education. In the above clip, they're at a family health clinic- meeting about sexual intercourse- and the adolescents all want to acquire birth control. Clearly, the leader of this meeting is comfortable talking about sex openly and educating the families at this meeting. She is supposed to be there to educate the families on the use of contraceptives, but wants to get to know where they all stand on a sexual spectrum first. She also is trying to convince the younger children, with their families, that there is more to sexual relations than just intercourse, and that they should try to engage in "outercourse" instead. Not only are the characters in the movie being educated by this, but the viewers at home will be too. When the group leader begins to talk about sex, it is clear that the teenage boys and girls, and the adults have all different reactions. The girls seem to get uncomfortable in this scene, while the boys remain interested. The older men are questioning and looking for answers, especially Steve Carell. It is possible that this scene in the movie can be of help to an adolescent (or a 40 year old) who hasn't engaged in sexual intercourse. While it may be uncomfortable for some people to watch, they definitely reference safe-sex, and sexual relations.

For many adolescents, it can be helpful to learn about sexual health through the form of media. While all parents may not sit down with their kids, it may be helpful for adolescents to ask. It can help adolescents feel more comfortable with the idea of sex, and learning about using condoms and birth control. In Collin's research, it was suggested that families watch television and discuss scenes together. This could potentially decrease urge, or eliminate preconceived notions. (Collins, 1120). In this scene, all the children are with their own perspective adult making it pretty comfortable for the kids and parents to engage in conversation about sex and birth control. This can be extremely helpful for adolescents who don't know much about sexual intercourse, or haven't had any experience of their own. Since there also is a 40-year-old virgin in this movie, it can also ease adolescents worries about still being a virgin, when there are pressures in their lives otherwise. Thus, this movie and this scene in particular may have somewhat of a positive effect on its viewers (Collins, 1119).



Collins, R., Elliott, M., Berry, S., Kanouse, D., & Hunter, S. (2003). Entertainment television as a healthy sex educator: The impact of condom-efficacy information in an episode ofFriends. Pediatrics, 112(5), 1115-1121.